This Guy Wrote Driving Directions for All of Jack Kerouac's "On The Road"

No other book has been able to replicate the feeling of criss-crossing the country better than Kerouac's "On The Road" -- and now someone has translated the entire thing into a series of directions. You can take a look at the whole thing right here.

It's called "On the Road for 17,527 Miles" and is available for free thanks to a German college student named Gregor Weichbrodt, who clearly deserves a beer and a shot of moonshine for all of this hard work. He's successfully pinpointed every physical stop that Kerouac makes in "On The Road" and has mapped it out. The book now reads exactly like a GPS would if a GPS had a drinking problem and nowhere in particular to be. The first page now looks something like this:

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Head NW on W 47th Ave toward 7th Ave. Take the 1st left onto 7th Ave. Turn right onto W 39th St. Take the ramp onto Lincoln Tunnel. Parts of this road are closed Mon-Fri 4:00pm-7:00pm. Entering New Jersey. Continue onto NJ-495 W.

The entire trip would take you around 273 hours with no stops. The entire book is now just 45 pages of directions.

Back when I was a young pup navigating the ropes of adulthood I thought for about a year that I was Jack Kerouac. I traveled up and down both coasts, driving or taking the train. This was mostly to give some credence to my burgeoning alcoholism after one of my parents died, but it was also the thrill of the road. I still hold a very special place in my heart for those days and I'm really glad I travelled as much as I did, even if I was a little lost. Anyway.

Flying is convenient but for suckers. There's something moving about seeing America from the ground. If you have the time to, that is.

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